Hikers saved by Whatsapp message after falling in Swiss mountains

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Two men were thankful to be alive after spending six hours stuck on a ledge in the mountains on Sunday in -10C temperatures.

The pair, Germans aged 23 and 24 who live in Switzerland, were walking in the mountains near Obstalden in the canton of Glarus on Sunday when they slipped on a patch of ice and fell more than 200m, reported 20 Minutes on Wednesday.

Slightly injured, the pair were stuck on a ledge with a steep slope above and below, offering them no chance of extricating themselves from the situation.

What’s more, they had lost their backpack containing clothing, drinks and a flashlight.

“We weren’t equipped for sleeping outside. It was -10 degrees and our shoes were full of snow,” the 23-year-old said.

Though their phones were very low on battery and they had no signal to make calls, they did have internet service, so they managed to send a Whatsapp message to three friends explaining their predicament and giving their location.

“After that, the phone died,” the young hiker told the paper.

The pair had to wait six hours but were finally reached by Swiss air rescue service Rega.

“We had hypothermia. A Rega expert told us that we wouldn’t have had much chance of surviving if we’d stayed there in the cold much longer,” said the young German.

The pair now face a bill of 8,000 francs for their rescue, according to the paper.

Rega rescues around 600-900 hikers every year.

Individuals and families can pay an annual donation to become a patron of the non-profit organization.

Rega can “at its own discretion and within the bounds of its resources” waive or reduce the costs of emergency rescue to patrons if their insurance company is not liable to reimburse the costs.

Rega also has a mobile phone app that uses GPS to quickly and easily transmit a person's location data to rescuers in the event of an emergency. However the app does require phone signal.